Microsoft held a press conference in Japan yesterday, showing off many of the games it hopes will win over Japanese gamers.

A few of the new games looked promising

The head of Xbox Japan, Takashi Sensui, began the conference with a few upbeat words concerning the success of the Xbox 360.

"Xbox 360 is the only next-gen console right now, and it will be the best game machine for years to come. On top of that, it's easy to exploit its capabilities to produce high-quality next-gen games," said Sensui, concluding his opening speech with a promise that the Xbox 360 would succeed in Japan.

Next on stage was the developer Tri-Ace, known for Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean, who announced it was working with Microsoft Game Studios on an unnamed RPG featuring real-time action.

Next up was Square Enix executive producer Yousuke Saito and Game Arts board director Satoshi Uesaka, who came on stage to announce Project Sylph, their new shooter coming exclusively to the Xbox 360.

"Using the High Definition capabilities of the Xbox 360, we hope to realize stunning visuals in our shooting game that features as much details as possible," said Saito. "As one characteristic, this won't be just an ordinary shooter. As Square Enix, we will be adding a level of drama to our shooting game."

Two of Mistwalker's games are still being kept under wraps

A Bandai Namco rep followed, announcing Galaga and Pac-Man for Xbox Live Arcade, both to be complete with global scoreboards. The rep then spent some time showing the recently announced Zegapain XOR and followed this with the announcement of Culdcept Saga, the latest in a long running series which blends Monopoly with magic.

Mistwalker founder and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was next on stage, discussing the three titles in development at his Mistwalker development studio. Blue Dragon is on course for release this year, and his team is working hard on the game's balance and presentation.

"It's a pretty rare case, but Blue Dragon's development is progressing very smoothly. It can already run on the Xbox 360 [in real time] with things such as the battle phases and event scenes connected together... During the next few months, we'll be working on the stage direction [of events and scenes] and balancing the game," Sakaguchi told the gathered press.

Mistwalker is also currently developing two other Xbox 360 titles: Lost Odyssey due in 2007, and the action RPG Cry On.

The conference was ended with a look at the Xbox 360 Blue Limited Edition: 2006 FIFA World Cup console, and a demo of Ninety-Nine Nights, which Microsoft is hoping will go down well in Japan when released in Japan on April 20.